Skyrim: Here’s How To Have Multiple Characters (With & Without Mods)
Skyrim allows you to do a great many things, but having multiple characters on one profile, and in the same playthrough is a bit complicated. There are numerous solutions to these problems; some require you to use console commands, and some need mods. In today’s article, we’re going to answer the age-old question of how to have multiple characters in Skyrim.
How do you have multiple character profiles in Skyrim?
Using a custom-named save games
You can create as many characters as you like in Skyrim, the problem is those characters will not have distinctive well organized saves and that makes it incredibly difficult to navigate. Each Skyrim save game is named after the location in which you save the game, and auto-saves and quick-saves also have generic names, which makes distinguishing them quite difficult.
You can name your save games manually through the save game console command.
- open the console with ~
- type save <name of the save game>
- press enter
when you open the “load save game” menu, your save game shouldn’t have a generic name anymore. Keep in mind that you can’t do this with auto-save files and “quick save” files, those are shared between all your characters and have a tendency to overwrite themselves, that’s why you should rely on manual saving instead.
Using a profile manager mod
Another way to have several characters is by using Profile Manager, which you can download from Nexus by following this link. Profile manager works by separating your save games into individual profiles. It allows for custom game insertion as well as launching specific profiles directly from a desktop shortcut. It also makes overwriting save game files near impossible. This profile manager mod works for Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas.
Using a Skyrim Mod Organizer
Mod organizer allows you to create several distinctive profiles and keep them separated. You can download this mod from Nexus by following this link. The primary use of Mod Organizer is to keep several distinctively modded profiles separated in case you want to experiment with different mods and game alterations. Still, it works for character organizing as well. All save game files (as well as mod files) are not kept in the main game folders, instead, it creates a distinctive and separate folder for everything which makes overwriting almost impossible. It’s a great alternative to a profile manager if you’re looking for something with more features.
How do you have multiple Skyrim characters in the same playthrough?
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to have multiple characters in the same playthrough without using mods. The game simply won’t allow it. You can’t use any console commands as well. The only way to have multiple Skyrim characters in the same playthrough is by using mods.
Project Proteus by Phenderix
The first mod that I would recommend is Project Proteus by Phenderix. You can download it from here. Project Proteus has multiple functionalities as it allows you to manipulate your save game files, create characters, and modify weapons, armor, spells, and NPCs – without leaving your current game. The functionality that we’re most interested in is the one that allows you to create multiple characters in the same playthrough.
You can quickly switch from all your created characters and summon them in the currently played world. To make matters even better, you can summon your own created characters to serve as your followers. I strongly encourage you to try out this mod since it adds tons of great features.
Familiar Faces
This next mod won’t allow you to play two different characters in the same playthrough, but it allows you to import your characters from different playthroughs and use them as followers. You can download the mod from Nexus following this link.
The mod works by placing “Shrine of Heroes” within your current game playthrough, from which you can load your old “familiar” characters. The mod adds tons of great features related to spells, shouts, armor, NPC management, and even the ability to summon yourself as a follower. It’s not exactly what you were looking for, but it’s close enough. For everything else and more complex, you can simply use Project Proteus by Phenderix.
And that’s pretty much it. As you can see, the best solution to the “multiple characters” problem is to simply use mods. The last bit of advice I can give you is to always back up your game as well as save files before making any kind of changes to avoid losing your progress.
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